Canada's Drag Race
| Canada's Drag Race | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Drag Race Canada |
| Genre | Reality competition |
| Created by | RuPaul |
| Based on | RuPaul's Drag Race |
| Directed by | Shelagh O'Brien |
| Judges | Brooke Lynn Hytes (1-) Brad Goreski (2-) Amanda Brugel (2-) Traci Melchor (2-) Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (1) Stacey McKenzie (1) |
| Theme music composer | RuPaul |
| Opening theme | "RuPaul's Drag Race Theme" |
| Ending theme | "U Wear It Well" |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Fenton Bailey Randy Barbato Mike Bickerton Tom Campbell Michael Kot Laura Michalchyshyn Betty Orr Pam McNair RuPaul Charles Randy Lennox Tracey Pearce |
| Running time | 60 min. |
| Production company | Blue Ant Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | Crave WOW Presents Plus (International) |
| Original release | July 2, 2020 |
| External links | |
| Canada's Drag Race | |
Canada's Drag Race is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series RuPaul's Drag Race and is the Canadian edition of the Drag Race franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios.[1][2] In a similar format to the American version, the show features a crop of Canadian drag queens as they compete for a grand prize of $100,000, a year of hotel stays courtesy of Hilton, and the title of "Canada's First Drag Superstar". The series airs on Crave in Canada, and worldwide on WOW Presents Plus.[3]
It was the fourth international version of the Drag Race franchise to be announced, following Drag Race Thailand, The Switch Drag Race (Chile) and RuPaul's Drag Race UK;[3] two months after the announcement of the Canadian version, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under was also announced. Canada's Drag Race was the first English-language incarnation of Drag Race to not be hosted by RuPaul, although RuPaul does appear in video messages to the contestants, and narrates the title sequence.[4]
The show premiered on July 2, 2020.[5] The cast was announced on May 14, 2020.[5] The winner of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race was Priyanka, with Rita Baga and Scarlett BoBo as runners-up.[6]
On January 7, 2021, it was announced that Crave renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on October 14.[7] A third season was announced on November 10, 2021.[8]
Production[]
Season 1[]
Casting occurred in mid-2019 with production starting in fall 2019.[9] The inaugural season consisted of ten one-hour episodes.[1] In June 2020 it was announced that the series would be carried by BBC Three in the United Kingdom.[10] Early coverage of the production announcement indicated that the series would also air on OutTV;[2] although that channel did not simulcast the series in first run, it was later announced on December 3 that there would be a marathon of the series on December 5, along with all episodes being available for streaming as of December 3, on OutTV's subscription service, OutTV Go.[11]
In the United States the series premiered on WOW Presents Plus, the streaming service of RuPaul's Drag Race production company World of Wonder, concurrently with its Canadian debut. It was subsequently added to the schedule of Logo TV, premiering on that service on July 27, 2020.[12]
In August 2021, it was announced that the Season 1 queens would be featured in a Canada's Drag Race Anniversary Extravaganza reunion special, airing on Crave September 6, 2021 in advance of the second season launch. The special included the premiere of a new music video from Priyanka's Taste Test EP, as well as an introduction to the second season judging panel.[13]
Season 2[]
In January 2021, it was announced that the show was renewed for a second season. At the same time, it was announced that comedian and producer Trevor Boris will join production as showrunner in the second season.[14]
In March 2021, it was announced that Bowyer-Chapman will not return as a judge in the second season, due to a scheduling conflict with another project he is working on.[15] In June 2021, it was announced that McKenzie will not return as a judge in the second season, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The second season judging panel will include fashion stylist Brad Goreski, actress Amanda Brugel, and broadcaster and Season 1 "Squirrel Friend" Traci Melchor.[17]
Judges[]
On September 26, 2019, it was announced that the judges panel will include RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 runner-up Brooke Lynn Hytes, actor Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and fashion model Stacey McKenzie.[18] Bell Media personality Traci Melchor appears as a recurring cast member, with the title "Canada's Squirrel Friend";[18] her role entails participatory support in challenges, including co-judging the Canada Gay-M mini-challenge, hosting a sheTalk red carpet segment prior to Snatch Game, and serving as one of the judges of the Miss Loose Jaw pageant. Melchor also appeared as the special guest host for the season finale.
Hytes was the first prior competitor in the RuPaul's Drag Race franchise to appear on the judge's panel on any edition of the show.[19]
| Judge | Season | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| Brooke Lynn Hytes | Main | |
| Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman | Main | |
| Stacey McKenzie | Main | |
| Traci Melchor | Recurring | Main |
| Amanda Brugel | Guest | Main |
| Brad Goreski | Main | |
Series overview[]
| Series | Premiere Date | Finale Date | Winner | Runners-up | No. of contestants | Winner's Prizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 2, 2020 | September 3, 2020 | Priyanka | Rita Baga Scarlett BoBo |
12 |
|
| 2 | October 14, 2021 | December 16, 2021 | Icesis Couture | Kendall Gender Pythia |
12 |
|
Post-production[]
Drag Ball and Drag Superstars[]
Separately from the production of the series, all of the queens from the season participated in Pride events for both Pride Toronto and Fierté Montreal, presented as online streaming specials due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The Toronto event, Drag Ball presented by Crave, was streamed on June 27,[20] and the Montreal event, Drag Superstars, was streamed on August 14.[21] The Toronto special was directly produced by Crave; the Montreal event was produced by a separate company, but received some production assistance and sponsorship from Crave and the Canada's Drag Race production team.
Controversy[]
During the series run, producers and competing queens spoke out against online bullying, after Bowyer-Chapman and some of the competing queens were subjected to campaigns of harassment on social media.[22] Bowyer-Chapman's critics focused on purportedly unfair comments in his role as a judge, while several queens were attacked for simply having done better in challenges or lipsyncs than other more popular queens with bigger fanbases.[23]
In the second season, the show's use of KAPRI's cover of Alexis Jordan's 2010 single "Happiness" as a lip sync number faced some discussion among fans as KAPRI's recording was unlocatable on any music store or streaming platform.[24] The situation led to unconfirmed speculation that the show had in fact directly commissioned a new cover of the song after using Jordan's original recording during production but then running into a copyright clearance issue.[25]
Canada's Drag Race Live at the Drive-In[]
Following the conclusion of the season, the cast announced a cross-Canada tour, to be performed at drive-in venues due to the ongoing social distancing restrictions remaining in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] Brooke Lynn Hytes hosted, and Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo and Rita Baga were scheduled to appear at every date on the tour, while other cast members would perform at selected dates based on availability;[27] ultimately, however, both Priyanka and Brooke Lynn Hytes had to miss a couple of later dates after being forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure.[28]
Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo also participated in an online panel as part of the 2020 Just for Laughs festival.[29]
Reception[]
In its December 2020 year in review, the Canadian film and television industry magazine Playback named Canada's Drag Race the Unscripted Series of the Year.[30]
The show was the highest-rated original production in Crave's history.[14]
Awards[]
| Award | Date of Ceremony | Category | Nominees | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | May 17-20, 2021 | Best Reality/Competition Program or Series | Michael Kot, Laura Michalchyshyn, Betty Orr, Mike Bickerton, Pam McNair, RuPaul Charles, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Randy Lennox, Tracey Pearce | Won | [31] |
| Best Host or Presenter in Factual or Reality/Competition | Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Stacey McKenzie | Won | |||
| Best Casting | Heather Muir | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction in a Reality/Competition Series | Shelagh O'Brien — "U Wear It Well" | Won | |||
| Best Writing in a Reality/Competition Series | Mike Bickerton, Elvira Kurt, Jen Markowitz — "Welcome to the Family" | Won | |||
| Best Sound in a Non-Fiction Series | John Diemer, Scott Brachmeyer, Daniel Hewett, Dane Kelly, Sarah Labadie, Carlo Scrignaro, Rob Taylor — "U Wear It Well" | Nominated | |||
| Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Series | Peter Faragher — "Eh-Laganza Eh-Xtravaganza" | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series | Priyanka — Drag Ball | Nominated | |||
| Best Host in a Web Program or Series | Traci Melchor — Drag Ball | Nominated | |||
| Audience Choice Award | Priyanka | Nominated | [32] | ||
| American Reality Television Awards | July 8, 2021 | International Reality Series | Canada's Drag Race | Nominated | [33] |
References[]
- ^ a b "RuPaul's 'Drag Race Canada' to serve meaty tucks and Canadian bacon". Entertainment Weekly. June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ a b Kevin Ritchie (June 27, 2019). "A Canadian version of RuPaul's Drag Race is happening". Now. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ a b Christopher Rudolph. "Grab Some Poutine Because "Drag Race Canada" Is Headed Your Way". NewNowNext. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ Joey Nolfi, "Face, fire, fierce guest judges sash-eh north in Canada's Drag Race trailer". Entertainment Weekly, June 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "These Are 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 1 Queens". Out. May 14, 2020.
- ^ Suzanne Lapointe, "‘Canada’s Drag Race’ makes herstory with its first ever Queen of the North". eTalk, September 3, 2020.
- ^ Street, Mikelle (January 7, 2021). "'Canada's Drag Race' Just Confirmed Its Returning in 2021". Out.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ Greg David (November 10, 2021). "Crave serves a third season of Canada's Drag Race". TV, eh?.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' getting Canadian adaptation for Crave and OUTtv". CTV News. Canadian Press. June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Kelly Townsend, "Canada’s Drag Race sashays away to the U.K.". Playback, June 15, 2020.
- ^ outtv (3 December 2020). "True north, strong and fierce! Relive the first season of Canada's Drag Race in an all-day marathon on Dec 5th on OUTtv, or stream it now on OUTtvGo.com!